Getting A Grip On Your Food Photography
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Have you ever wished you had an extra hand that you could set a prop in and know that it wouldn't move? Fortunately photographers and videographers have dozens of clamps, clips, stands, and arms that allow them to place any piece of lighting gear, lighting modifier, or prop anywhere they would like to. You could have a model or member of your crew hold a utensil in place, but there is a high chance that they will experience fatigue and drop the food. Here is a solution that uses grip gear to ensure your food will stay in place for as long as you would like.

BTS: Capturing Hollywood's Cougars On The Prowl Over Los Angeles
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National Geographic contributor and wildlife photographer Steve Winter just created what might be one of the most striking photos I can remember seeing in recent memory: A 125 pound mountain lion, staring straight into the camera, with the background illuminated by the lights of downtown Los Angeles.

Lighting Cupcakes with a Ring Flash
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Have you found yourself in a lighting rut? Do you have two or three "go to" lighting set ups that you find yourself continuously falling back on? Lately, I have found myself in a rut. For a little change of pace, I decided to shoot my favorite food, cupcakes, using a light source that is not very common in food photography: the ring flash.

How I Used Flash and White Balance for a Portrait Session on Location
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When shooting portraits on location, you are dependent on the ambient light—unless you bring your own lights. I decided to use flash to overpower the ambient light. This approach allowed for more variation during this portrait session. Let me explain how.

Why We Should All Be Grateful for Adobe
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You can not go on any photography-related blog these days without seeing some kind of negative post about Adobe, or an Adobe article without a comments section of people with their pitchforks and lanterns out.

Fstoppers Reviews: Mastin Labs Fuji 400H Preset System
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Late last year, Trevor Dayley wrote an article which introduced me to the Mastin Labs Portra 400 film emulation preset system. As a long time Kodak Portra 400 shooter I was thrilled to see side-by-side comparisons of Portra 400 against digital with the preset. They looked darn near identical. Now Kirk Mastin, the mastermind behind the presets is gearing up to release his Fuji 400H preset system and I couldn't be more excited.

We're Giving One Winner $570 In Lowepro Bags
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We were talking with our good friends over at Lowepro, and decided to sneak in one more contest before Christmas. We're giving away Pro Roller Lite 150 AW, Pro Messenger 160 AW and a Lens Exchange 200 AW to one Fstoppers reader who needs them dearly. That's $570 worth of gear! Basically, we wanted to have you covered in any situation you might come across in the world of photography. To win, you just have to show us how bad your bag situation really is.

Create the Space For Your Creativity With These Three Great Apps
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There is a theory that the best creative people have to live in a world that is chaotic and unstructured. Whilst there may be some great examples to cite such as Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin, imagine what they would have created with clear minds. Being organized, having effective systems, and achieving mindfulness creates more time for creatives to do what they do best; Think with clarity. Here are three great apps that will help you achieve this.

Full Behind The Scenes Of A Photoshoot With KITT And The A-Team Van
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I've been working on a personal photo series capturing movie and television cars (real and replica) for about 5 years now under the title "The Unicorn Project". I've posted about this before on Fstoppers (here, here, & here), as you may recall. Most recently, I had an opportunity to photograph a replica A-Team Van and KITT from Knight Rider while I was in Los Angeles. These happen to be two of my favorite television cars of all time. Watch the video and read the full post below to learn how it was done.

Photographer Claims Nike 'Jumpman' Logo Stolen from His Photo of Michael Jordan
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As a designer I've always been fascinated with branding and the history of logo marks across many top-tier brands. From Apple to Adidas, every brand has its story, and some of which are disputed. That includes Nike and their iconic Michael Jordan "Jumpman" logo mark used on the wildly famous Air Jordan shoe line. Photographer Jacobus Rentmeester is now suing Nike in Oregon Federal Court for copyright infringement on the photo he shot in 1985 of the famed basketball star in which he says the logo was based.

If Picasso Were A Photographer
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In today's world of hyper-exposure to media and art, it is a rare occurrence when a piece just grabs you by the heartstrings. Day in and day out you see another reiteration of the same old concept. But every once in a while, there's that moment when you come across another photographer’s work that leaves you in awe of their talent and unique vision. It's the kind of work that inspires you, and also makes you a bit jealous for not coming up with it yourself.

Game of Thrones Season 4 - Wight Attack Sequence Behind-the-Scenes
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The ever talented team at Scanline VFX have posted their most recent BTS video of the popular wight fight scene from the Game of Thrones Season 4 Finale. In this run down you can see the incredible detail and heavy visual effects work that goes into each and every scene from that fight. This one sequence has been remored to be one of the most expensive scenes created for the show.

ZEISS Unveils High-Speed DSLR Lens: ZEISS Milvus 1.4/25
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Having used a wide selection of ZEISS glass, I can confidently say they are special. Their weight and lack of auto-focus might put some off, but in the right setting, they can aid to create truly noteworthy images. This morning, ZEISS have announced their new 25mm wide-angle lens, but with a mouth-watering widest aperture of f/1.4. I imagine a synchronized pricking up of astrophotographers' ears .

Why You Should Move Beyond Snapshots and Make Art With Everyday Life
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When I chose to move beyond candid snapshots of my friends and family and actually asked them to sit down for formal portraits, my approach to everyday photography changed. Candid moments are wonderful, but practicing your craft with the people around you both helps hone your skills as a photographer and leads to precious moments with the people you love.

The Secret Sauce to More Effective Photographs
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Have you ever experienced being delighted about the outcome of your photographs but ended up getting a different reaction from your audience? Here’s a step that might help you curate your images better.

Really Right Stuff Tripods and Photography Accessories Now Available at B&H Photo
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Really Right Stuff, the highly regarded camera support manufacturer, now has their extensive line of products at B&H. Before this announcement, the only way to buy RRS merchandise was directly from them through their own website, but having their inventory available at the largest photo retailer in the USA creates a few benefits for the consumer.

Fstoppers Lighting Diagrams- Shutter Drag
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The best part about learning rules is breaking them. For example, most of the time, blur in a photograph is a faux pas. But there are ways you can use blur to add energy and emotion to your images. In this lighting diagram, we will explore how to introduce blurring to your images with the use of an on-camera flash.

Before you start experimenting with this technique, make sure to go to you menu in your camera and set it to "rear curtain sync".

The Art of Composite Photography: Part One
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As you can probably tell by my work I am a huge fan of composite photography. I chose the path of the composite warrior for a couple of reasons in the beginning.

Why Fitness Inspires Creativity
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In today’s world, the quality of work being put out into the creative space is as high as has ever been. Now with the cost of entry being low and the quality of technology being constantly updated, making a name for yourself is getting harder and harder daily. We are always looking for that “edge” as professionals that set us apart from the crowd or that little extra boost of energy needed to finish that late-night editing session. Lucky for us the answer isn't more caffeine (though it never hurts) or something we have to go out and buy. It's as simple as dedicating a few minutes a day to personal fitness.

[Video] Erik Johansson Discusses His Mind-Bending Photography
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At a recent TED Talk, conceptual photographer Erik Johansson broke down his approach and method into a bite-size chat. While many photographers consider their work finished as soon as they hit the shutter button, apply contrast, and upload to Flickr, Erik decides to take it further (quite a bit further, in fact). His images make you stop and think and may take a few minutes to sink in. If you're one of those who asks "yeah, but is it photography?" don't say I didn't warn you. Check out the video in the full post.
Sony a7S III Review: My Favorite Video Camera Ever
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For the last three years, I've filmed everything on the Pansonic GH5. It was almost the perfect camera except for three things: autofocus, low-light performance, and shallow depth of field. In comes the Sony a7S III.

Fstoppers Exclusive: Shooting Cirque du Soleil with Matt Beard
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Photographing a Cirque Du Soleil show requires a bit of acrobatics from any photographer up to the challenge. Matt Beard is one of the few photographers, hand picked by Cirque, to bring his talent and experience into capturing both live action and beautifully staged shots. He has worked with Cirque for many years, under the wing of master photographer Veronique Vial (as a photographer’s assistant) and had gained first hand experience in the ways of a Cirque shoot.

How the Focal Length of Your Lens Affects the Look of Your Video
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Have you ever seen those amazing shots that show a subject holding its place in the frame while the background falls away or becomes extremely compressed? This is called a "dolly-zoom," and you've likely seen an example in films such as "Jaws" and "Goodfellas." While we don't typically use a dolly-zoom when filming interviews, we can learn a lot from studying what happens to an image at different focal lengths. In this video and article, I'll discuss the visual effects created when choosing a wide versus telephoto lens for documentary-style interview productions.

Build Your Own White Balance Kit For Free
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While I will admit that buying a kit of white balance cards is extremely affordable (around $10) - nothing beats free. The guys over at Knick-Knack wrote up an article recently sharing their experience on how they built a dependable kit for themselves that did not cost them a penny. Read on to learn how they did it.